Austria – Türkiye marks the end of the round of 16 of Euro 2024.
Austria will face one of its recent victims, Turkey, in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 on Tuesday (9 p.m.) in Leipzig, with the ambition of continuing its good momentum from the first round and taking advantage of an open draw.
It was only a friendly match, but the Turks went through a real ordeal on March 26, thrashed 6 goals to 1, with a hat-trick from Michael Gregoritsch. For a while, they were able to compete, equalizing in the middle of the first half. But the Austrian intensity then got the better of Vincenzo Montella’s men, with three goals just before and after the break.
Since then, Austria has gained even more confidence by taking first place in Group D from under the noses of the French and the Dutch, thanks to two victories against Poland (3-1) and the Netherlands (3-2).
The Blues themselves, although victorious against the team led by Ralf Rangnick (1-0), had been seriously shaken – in particular Kylian Mbappé’s nose, which was fractured. Finishing first in a group including France, with the manner and consequence of being relegated to a table without the big favourites, gave Austria a new status. Whether Ralf Rangnick likes it or not.
“Months ago, when I was asked, I said that I didn’t think it was very likely to win the Euro without completely ruling it out, and that’s what I would say again today.”says the coach. His attacking midfielder Marcel Sabitzer is getting more involved: “We have passed the first stage, now that we are in the knockout phase, we can see far, we have the qualities to beat anyone”
Key suspensions
Struck by the rout in March, Turkish coach Vincenzo Montella is also convinced of this: “Austria took first place in a difficult group, that says a lot about their level. They are a very physical, organized team, which resembles that of a club because they seem to know each other very well and the cogs are well oiled.”.
A reference to the many players belonging to Leipzig and Salzburg, two clubs in the Red Bull galaxy. The Turks, for their part, had to recover from a grueling group stage, where they had to defend second place until the end against enterprising Czechs.
Coach Vincenzo Montella has spotted a weakness: “We need to manage our emotions better. We are the youngest team in the round of 16 – of my starting eleven, only three players have participated in Euro 2021”.
And in this regard, there is no worse news than the suspension for this match not only of central defender Samet Akaydin, but especially of captain Hakan Calhanoglu who, at 30, is shining in the national team. He was one of the key players during the qualification against the Czechs (2-1), with a sumptuous goal on a long-range shot with the outside of the foot. But more broadly he is of a serenity at all costs, which could be lacking on Tuesday.
